The present invention relates to accessing files using a file interface.
The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Software Component Architecture (SCA) defines a set of interfaces and protocols, often based on the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), for implementing a Software Defined Radio (SDR). In part, JTRS and its SCA are used with a family of software re-programmable radios. As such, the SCA is a specific set of rules, methods, and design criteria for implementing software re-programmable digital radios.
The JTRS SCA specification is published by the JTRS Joint Program Office (JPO). The JTRS SCA has been structured to provide for portability of applications software between different JTRS SCA implementations, leverage commercial standards to reduce development cost, reduce development time of new waveforms through the ability to reuse design modules, and build on evolving commercial frameworks and architectures.
The JTRS SCA is not a system specification, as it is intended to be implementation independent, but a set of rules that constrain the design of systems to achieve desired JTRS objectives. The software framework of the JTRS SCA defines the Operating Environment (OE) and specifies the services and interfaces that applications use from that environment. The SCA OE comprises a Core Framework (CF), a CORBA middleware, and a POSIX-based Operating System (OS) with associated board support packages. The JTRS SCA also provides a building block structure (defined in the API Supplement) for defining application programming interfaces (APIs) between application software components.
The JTRS SCA Core Framework (CF) is an architectural concept defining the essential, “core” set of open software Interfaces and Profiles that provide for the deployment, management, interconnection, and intercommunication of software application components in embedded, distributed-computing communication systems. Interfaces may be defined in the JTRS SCA Specification. However, developers may implement some of them; some may be implemented by non-core applications (i.e. waveforms, etc.); and some may be implemented by hardware device providers.
The file interface provided by the JTRS SCA typically provides the ability to read and write a file residing within a CF-compliant, distributed file system. The JTRS SCA file system interface typically defines a non-optimized file interface comprising set of CORBA operations that enable remote access to a physical file system, e.g. one located at a distance from the JTRS device. The file system interface further typically provides traditional operations associated with file accesses (i.e. remove, copy, directory listing, etc.). Additionally, the file system should make the underlying physical file system at the remote location transparent to the JTRS device user. Accordingly, different file systems like FAT32, NTFS, and the Unix file system may be used with the same file interface.
However, use of CORBA interfaces often slows access to files and adds overhead to the JTRS device. The JTRS system, e.g. the JTRS SCA, forces client file access into using a cumbersome process. Clients wishing to avoid that process may be forced into using non-compliant methods to access files.